


a long absence

by mjules



Category: Assassin's Creed
Genre: Multi, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-01
Updated: 2011-12-01
Packaged: 2017-10-26 18:32:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/286554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mjules/pseuds/mjules





	a long absence

There are moments, even now, that Altair suspects he has more in his life than is his due. There are no gods to snatch things away, but the law of the universe seems to work in balance—having so much now must mean he will have too little later. It is that knowledge that drives him to enjoy the abundance while he may, even if it means too little sleep, too many miles under his horse’s hooves. He wonders if some part of him hopes he is paying his debt ahead of time so that the universe will not steal too much from him. It is a useless struggle, but it does not stop him from fighting.

 

“What will I tell our sons?” Maria teases, watching Altair pull on his robes with more haste than care. The fabric tangles, and he forces himself to slow enough that it will loosen, release, allow him in. Pushing harder only makes things worse, but he’s already been away so long.

 

“Tell them that their fathers could not wait another moment to be together,” he says and leans over to kiss her. She accepts with a smile, fingers under his chin, smoothing across the stubble there.

 

“We will set out after you when it is a proper time for traveling,” she promises, “and we will take a leisurely pace.”  She pushes his hair back from his forehead, much as she does for their children, and traces her nails down the back of his neck. “Tell Malik I expect him to save some energy for my welcome as well.”

 

“I will tell him.” He smiles. “But I cannot promise that I will not be selfish anyway.”

 

She laughs and pushes him away when he tries to kiss her again. “I would expect nothing else from you.”

 

He wants to stay with her, to keep laughing together, enjoying every moment spent in each other’s presence, but it has been too long since he has seen his other lover, and he will see Maria again in a day or so.

 

“Be safe, my love,” she says when he glances over his shoulder at his patient horse and the impatient road, shimmering like a river in the darkness.

 

When the sun comes up, pouring all the colors of flame down through the lattice roof, turning climbing vines to gold and the gentle fountain to blood, Altair’s robes are tangled again, clinging to him as Malik pushes the fabric from his shoulders, all hurry, no grace.

 

“You have been too long away,” Malik murmurs against his mouth, but Altair does not stop to answer. There is precious little time, less every moment, and he will not waste it on speech. His hands are skilled in declarations of love and devotion, and his lips have better uses than words.


End file.
